Had to run an errand in Nazareth this morning but forgot that today is Sunday, so the market and most of the stores were closed, including the town's famous traditional bakeries and sweet shops known for their baklava, knafe, halva and lokoum (Turkish delight).
Nazareth is the sweet capital of Israel, manufacturing all kinds of treats, traditional and modern. While many of the town's visitors are Christian pilgrims, others come to enjoy culinary tours and workshops both of the old style Middle Eastern sweet shops and of the modern factories.
I did get a delicous whiff of sweetness and vanilla driving by the Elite chocolate factory in an industrial area of the new town, Upper Nazareth. The factory manufactures some of Israel's most well loved bars such as Pesek Zman (Time Out) and the Shokolad Para range, "cow chocolate" with the iconic picture of a cow embossed on the candy bars.
There was one shop open in the Old Town, the original Fahoum coffee in thenarrow lanes of the historic market. Inside it looks as though time has stood still, spices and coffee in old style glass jars and old cabinets, elderly Mr Fahoum himself behind the counter in a crisp button down shirt and knitted vest. Today he has several shiny modern branches around town, but this original shop remains mostly unchanged in its basic simplicity.
I picked up a small bag of fresh ground Middle Eastern style cardamom coffee, worth it just for the aroma alone. Cardamom coffee may be one of my most favourite scents in the world.
